In just seven years, 15 percent of the total U.S. population will have diabetes.

That’s 51 million people – a massive number by any measure.

How can pharmaceutical companies engage with these patients?

Today we’ll look at three key touchpoints to help answer this question.

Industry Touchpoints

Pharmaceutical and healthcare brands are on pace to spend $3.06 billion on digital advertising alone in 2018.

This stat should serve as a wake-up call to diabetes healthcare marketers: the competition is fierce in this market.

Standing out among a crowded field will require two things: ingenuity and a sizeable budget.

In 2017, paid search marketing – an important part of your digital marketing strategy – accounted for 41.4 percent of all pharmaceutical digital ad spend.

This is no accident.

Search is a key source of information for people.

Showing up at the right moment, as a searcher is learning about symptoms and treatment, positions you to be the source they turn to.

In this way, paid search becomes a brand effort.

The Role of Search

People turn to search for everything.

What’s my doctor’s address?

What are the most common symptoms of diabetes?

Where is the nearest pharmacy?

Search shows up across the diabetes patient journey, from searches for educational resources and information on conditions, diseases and symptoms, to searches signifying high intent on specific diabetes pharmaceutical brand names.